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During the Siege of Tobruk, the besieging troops were in the main part Italian units belonging to the ''Ariete'' Armoured Division and ''Trieste'' Motorized Division from the XXnd Motorised Corps, in support of the the ''Pavia'', ''Bologna'', and ''Brescia'' Infantry Divisions from the XXIst Infantry Corps. The sector manned by the ''Bologna'' Division consisted of several strongpoints manned by infantry and artillery battalions, all protected by extensive minefields.

During the Siege of Tobruk, the besieging troops were in the main part Italian units belonging to the ''Ariete'' Armoured Division and ''Trieste'' Motorized Division from the XXnd Motorised Corps, in support of the the ''Pavia'', ''Bologna'', and ''Brescia'' Infantry Divisions from the XXIst Infantry Corps. The sector manned by the ''Bologna'' Division consisted of several strongpoints manned by infantry and artillery battalions, all protected by extensive minefields.

The Italians, during the [[Battle of the Salient]], had overrun most of the Australian positions lost outside Tobruk on May 1st 1941. Combat engineers under Lieutenant Francesco Tuci and Second Lieutenant Ernesto Betti, supported by Italian flamethrower tanks, had helped the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment capture several of the Australian strongpoints, and Lieutenant Tuci was posthumously awarded the ''Medaglia D'Argento'' (the Silver Medal, Italy's second highest military award for bravery, in helping his platoon fight off an Australian counterattack.

The Italians, during the [[Battle of the Salient]], had overrun most of the Australian positions lost outside Tobruk on May 1st 1941. Combat engineers under Lieutenant Francesco Tuci and Second Lieutenant Ernesto Betti, supported by Italian flamethrower tanks, had helped the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment capture several of the Australian strongpoints.<ref>[http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/firefly1002000/tobruk.html&date=2009-10-25+22:14:28 THE EARLY ATTEMPTS and SEIGE]</ref>

 

Lieutenant Tuci was posthumously awarded the ''Medaglia D'Argento'' (the Silver Medal, Italy's second highest military award for bravery, in helping his platoon of engineers fight off an Australian counterattack.<ref>"La sera del 29 il 1° plotone della 3a, agli ordini del Sototenente Ernesto Betti, andò in azione con un gruppo comandato dal Tenente dei Bersaglieri Melis. Questo reparto era costituito di un plotone Arditi dell'8° Bersaglieri e di 2 carri M13. Guastatori aprirono un varco nel campo minato protetto da filo spinato, antistante la Ridotto R3, I'assaltarono e la conquistarono utilizzando lanciafiamme e cariche cubiche ... Un commento al Bollettino di Guerra, trasmesso alle 13:00 del 10 maggio, informava che reparti del Genio Guastatori avevano espugnato 5 fortini della cerchia di Tobruk." Genio Guastatori, Silvestri Angioni Lombardi , p. 47, Edizioni R.E.I., 2015</ref>

==Operation Crusader==

==Operation Crusader==